Stephen Prince

Lester D. Friedman

David Desser

Sarah Kozloff

Martha Nochimson

An Introduction to Film Genres, written by leading film scholars specifically for undergraduates who are new to the study of film, provides an introduction that helps students see thirteen film genres in a new light---to help them identify the themes, iconography, and distinctive stylistic traits of each genre.

An Introduction to Film Genres

TWIN PEAKS . . . BLUE VELVET . . . DUNE . . . THE ELEPHANT MAN . . . LOST HIGHWAY. . . . In order to understand the work of filmmaker David Lynch, one must set the conscious mind aside, according to film professor Martha Nochimson. In this innovative study, she draws on such strategy to offer close readings of Lynch's films, informed by unprecedented, in-depth interviews with the man himself. 68 photos. 296 pp. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

Wild at Heart in Hollywood

The Passion of David Lynch

Beginning with Lost Highway, director David Lynch “swerved” in a new direction, one in which very disorienting images of the physical world take center stage in his films. Seeking to understand this unusual emphasis in his work, noted Lynch scholar Martha Nochimson engaged Lynch in a long conversation of unprecedented openness, during which he shared his vision of the physical world as an uncertain place that masks important universal realities. He described how he derives this vision from the Holy Vedas of the Hindu religion, as well as from his layman’s fascination with modern physics. With this deep insight, Nochimson forges a startlingly original template for analyzing Lynch’s later films—the seemingly unlikely combination of the spiritual landscape envisioned in the Holy Vedas and the material landscape evoked by quantum mechanics and relativity. In David Lynch Swerves, Nochimson navigates the complexities of Lost Highway, The Straight Story, Mulholland Drive, and Inland Empire with uncanny skill, shedding light on the beauty of their organic compositions; their thematic critiques of the immense dangers of modern materialism; and their hopeful conceptions of human potential. She concludes with excerpts from the wide-ranging interview in which Lynch discussed his vision with her, as well as an interview with Columbia University physicist David Albert, who was one of Nochimson’s principal tutors in the discipline of quantum physics.

Uncertainty from Lost Highway to Inland Empire

David Lynch Swerves

"Combines an array of critical methodologies to come to terms with a culturally persuasive but vastly undervalued media form.The scholarship is quite extraordinary. . . . It is the author's working knowledge of the circumstances under which television soap opera is actually written and produced that makes her theoretical arguments so convincing. She does a fine job of interfusing philosophy with praxis."—David A. Cook, author of History of Narrative Film "The scholarship is quite extraordinary. . . . It deals with . . . its subject with both elegance and passion. . . . It illuminates a great deal about the way in which television soap opera is both produced and consumed . . . could be used quite handily as a text . . . in the same way Tania Modeleski's The Women Who Knew Too Much is used."—David Cook, Emory University

Soap Opera and the Female Subject

No End to Her

Astaire and Rogers, Tracy and Hepburn. Just the mention of their names evokes the powerful chemistry between these screen couples, which utterly transcended the often formulaic films in which they appeared together. Indeed, watching the synergistic flow of energy between charismatic screen partners is one of the great pleasures of cinema and television, as well as an important vehicle for thinking through issues of intimacy and gender relations. In this book, Martha P. Nochimson engages in a groundbreaking study of screen couple chemistry. She begins by classifying various types of couples to define what sets the synergistic couple apart from other onscreen pairings. Then she moves into extended discussions of four enduring screen couples—Maureen O'Sullivan/Johnny Weissmuller, Myrna Loy/William Powell, Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers, and Katharine Hepburn/Spencer Tracy. Using theories of neuroscience, she demonstrates that their onscreen chemistry is a very real phenomenon, powerful enough to subvert conventional formulations of male/female relations. Material she has uncovered in the infamous Production Code Administration files illuminates the historical context of her contentions. Finally, Nochimson traces the screen couple to its present-day incarnation in such pairs as Woody Allen/Diane Keaton, Scully/Mulder of The X-Files, and Cliff/Claire Huxtable of The Cosby Show.

The Power of 2

Screen Couple Chemistry

This uniquely engaging and lively textbook provides a comprehensive introduction to international film, from the golden age of European cinema to the contemporary blockbusters of India and Asia, and the post World War II emergence of global film culture. Offers an overview of film culture in European countries such as France, Sweden and Spain, as well as Africa, Hong Kong, China, and India, in a clear and conversational style to engage the student reader Provides a detailed exploration of the impact of globalization on international cinema Addresses the differences in visual and narrative strategies between Hollywood-influenced movies and international cinema Highlights key words within the text and provides a comprehensive glossary of critical vocabulary for film studies Includes over 80 film stills throughout the text, and a comprehensive companion website with a 'troubleshooting guide' for instructors that includes suggested syllabi at www.wiley.com/go/worldonfilm Each chapter includes in-depth case studies of individual films and directors, cultural and historical context, selected filmographies, and ideas for projects, essays, and further research

Martha Nochimson

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